Bottle-capping machine.



N0. 873,022. PATENTED DEC. 1o, 1907. A. w. comms.

B'oTTLB GAPPING MACHINE.

.UPLIUATIOI FILED SEPT 21,1908

4 sums-snm s.

. III... l.

Hna saco ./d Mano. 741.

mail; 51.111111? um mw T 9 n 1 E O. s w l E m n D u D Tu nl. N E T A P A. W. GURDES. BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE. PPLIOATIUH xILnn'snPr n 190e No. 873,022. PATENTED DBC. 10, 1907.

` A'. W. CORDES.

BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE. uruoyrzon'rnnn SEPT. 21, nos.

4 annui-snm' 4.

@W44 at N135 .PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST W. CORDES, OI" NEW YORK, N. Y.

BGTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1907.

Application tiled September 21. 1906. Serial No. 335.538.

T o all u'zo-mr it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUci'sT W. Comms, a citizen of the United States, residingr at New York city, in thc count) of New York and v Stato of New. York, have invented certain new andaiscful Improvements in I3ottle Capping Machines, ot' which the following is a1 full, clear, and exact description.

'My invention relates to bottle capping machines 'or tools, and peitains particularly to the provision of a machine or tool for applying caps of the character set forth in my Patent No. 824,341, and my application 312,772, filed April 20, 1906, although the invention is applicable to many other forms of cap having a movable clamping ring by which they are tightened.

The principal object of the invention isito provide a machine or tool ot' the above character,u which applies the caps quickly and perfectly to the bottles under all circuitistances, regardless of slight variations or irregularities therein, and without necessitating any'particular care or skill ou the part of the operator.

With these and other ,object-s in view, the invention consists in the features of construction. hereinafter setforth and claimed.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bottle capping machine embodying the principles of'iny invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the cap applying head; Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the support or rest for the bottle; Fig. 4 is a side view of the cap applying head; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line V-V voi" Fig. 2; Figj is a vicwsimilar to Fig. 2 showing the cap applying head in a position to receive a cap; F10. 7 is a artial sectional viewontli'eline. II--VII of .`ig.6; Fig.8is a detail side view of one of the parts;` Fig. 9 is a top view of the same; Fig. 10 is a side 'elevation showing the construction of a cap adapted to be applied in accord ance with my invention; F ig. 11 is a sectional view of the same in position to be applied to a bottle; Fig. .12,isa view of the top of a form of bottle which may be used; Fig. 1-3 is s. sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a slightly modified construction' of ,gripping lever adapted to be used as a separate tool. n Fig. 14 is a plan view of another modified form of gripping lever; Fig. 15 is a sectional viewof the same. 55 In the practical operation of a bottle cap- ,ping4 machine or tool the most essential {requisite is to have the appliance work i quickly and perfectlyinspite ot rather careless handling, which is unavoidable under -the i ordinary conditions of a. bottling establishment. -The operator cannot be depended on to position the caps at any particular angular relation in the cap applyingdevice, nor can hc be called upon to apply any exact predetermined amount oi pressure to the foot levers and operating devices. )loreover since the operator frequently pushes the. caps into the cap receiving device rather carelessly, such device should be constructe `l to avoid injury to the caps in such case. In carrying out my invention l secure all these requisites, and in addition I obtain a machine which is durable and rapid in its operation.

Referring to the drawings in which like parts are designated by thesauie reference sign, 1 indicates the. frame. or standart. of the machine supported from a base 2, and having a verticalliY depressible cross head 3, normally spring impelle'd into its upward position by a compression spring 4.

5 indicates afoot pedal pivoted at G on the base and having a link connection with the cross head 3. The cross head carries the plying head 9, at its lower extremity.

10 denotes a bracket adjustable vertically 11. I provide upon this bracket a verticallr projecting sleeve 12 in a.linenient'\\'ith the main operating spindle S, and ln ving a spiral aperture 13 in its wall, as shown in Fig. 3. This spirally apertured sleeve contains a vertically sliding plunger 14, with an enlargement` 15 thereon to limit its downward movement against the sleeve 12. This plunger alsomirries'o. pin 13 which is Guided in the spiral aperture 13, so that the unger has a definite rotative movement wlien depressed.

16 denotes a s ring surrounding the sleeve and plunger an serving to normally maintain the latter iii an elevated position. The bottle support 17 is rotatably supported by the plunger 14, and in order to minimize the uncertain friction of the rotative movement, I have shown ball bearings 18 inte osed between the bottle support and the p unger.

As will hereinafter appear, it is desirable to have a certain predetermined friction in the rotative movement of the bottle lsupport .17 and the plunger 14. Forthis purpose I employ what I sliall term the safety frictioi on the standard 1, b v means of a set screw,

main operating spindle 8, having a cap apalso to give a strong frictional engagement' between the bottle and its su pport 17.

In Figs.. 2 and 6 I have shown'. a construc' tion of cap applyin' tool or head attached to and forming part di the spindle S. For this purpose the spindle 8 is enlar ed at its lower 2&2 l@ fl to form a cylindrical bloc 24 with spiral grooves 23 therein. This is best accompiished by fastening suitably shaped collars 24', thereto. These collars serve to loosely guide. a sleeve 25, having a plurality oi' in- 25' wardly projecting pins 26, which coperate with the. spiral grooves 23, to give the sleeve a predetermined longitudinal movement when it is rotated.

27 denotes a spiral spring, fastened at its 30 respective ends to the spindle S, and to the sleeve 25, so as to normally impel the latter in one direction, left handed or anti-clockwise, looking from above in the construction shown. The normal position of the parts uncIler the impulse of this spring is illustrated in iv. 2.

Senred to' the sleeve 25 and laterally prjecting therefrom into a position convenient to be grasped by the operator, is a gripping 40. lever 2S. This lever is conveniently constructed of a metallic strap 29, which encirfA cles the sleeve at 29', and then extends radially outward therefrom to inclose stiffening blocks 30, the metal ofthe strap finally returnin f toward the sleeve, and' again encircling t e same at 29?. By this construction a pair of biting shoulders are produced at 31,

the metal at this oint being supported by the blocks 30. ien the two blocks 30 are impelled toi'vard one another, the biting shoulders 31 become effective for the purpose of clamping the bottle cap, as will hereinafter appear. The blocks 30 are normally iin lled apart by the resiliency of the me- .'5 tal ic strap 2.0, their separation being limited by a holt 32. While i have shonn this particular construction of gripping lever 28, I do not'desire to be limited or restricted thereto, since other forms of grippin lever adapted to ciasp the cap when gra-spe in the hand, may be used in lieu then-o if desired.- `The spindle S terminates at its lower end in a flat face 33, and is conveniently enlarged at this` point to substantially the :i5 diameter of the bottle cap.

' 34 indicates a resilient spring lring, conveniently split at 35, which loosely surrounds the spindle, and has a depending rirn 36. This spring ring may be 'fastened to the spindle, if esired.

Before considering the use and operation of the machine, -I will describe brieiiy the essential features of a bottle cap which may be applied thereby. Adesignats broadly such a bottle cap, having a main portion B, with a circumferential depending run (I, and an interior lining of packing material D. E indicate depending spring fingers, which are beaded at F, so as to presenta rounded surface exteriorlvand interiorly. G indicates a clampingf'ring surrounding the cap and arranged to cam the fingers E inward when .it is move'd downward thereon. The.' ring is moved ,fdo'vvnward in this way by turning circumferentialiy, v the top edge. having cam inclines H, which cooperate with lugs or projections I on the cap. The lower edge of the. clamping ring is conveniently milled or roughened, as shown at J, so as to be conveniently grasped by the fingers in turning t. 9G This cap is applicableto an ordinary bottle, or it may be used with a special bottle, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. In these figures the neck of the bottle K has recesses L at one orm ore points, and the interior of the cap has lugs M adapted to fall in such recesses.

The use and operation is as follows: It being desired to apply caps of the form above described to an ori'linary bottle, theoperator Ipushes a ea upward y into the cap applying 100 ead 9. he cap passes u ward and is guided into a central position y the engage- Y ment of the prongs I thereon, with the spring ring 34. It is evident that while this engagement holds the. cap firmly in place, it does not revent rotative movement of the clamping ring G, since the cap is held only by the rotuberances I.' 'A further advantage folows from this arrangement, since the protuing ring being caught when a cap is careless y inserted into the head, the cap being centered as it is inserted by the engagement of the prongs with the. spring ring. The cap being thus pushed into place within the cap apply- 115 ing head, a bottle is placed on the bottle. support 17, and the foot pedal o erated to depress the. main operating spm( le toward the ottle and position the'cap thereon.l It is-to be noted that the resihency of the cap is suf- 120' iiciently great to rmit its being initially' placed on the bott e regardless of the rela-v tive sition'of the prongs M and the notches L. when the ca. vengages the bottle, the latter is depresse and rotates 'as it'moves 125 'downwardly bv reason of the spiral incline 13. The cap B'does' not partake of this rotary movement, howevelg, on account of the friction of the knurled or roughened surface 33, which is sujnenuygren for this pur- 1an berances I prevent any portion of the clam 11 0 by'reason of therball bearing1S,the friction strap 19 not imposing sullicient resistance to revent this. tlon device prevents the bottle being brokrn 'Whether the prongs M fall into Vthe notches L L at once or only after considerable rotin tive'movemcnt. The operation is finally arrested by the enlargement i5 bringing up against the' upper face of the sleeve l2, and the pressure on the foot pedal is thereupon effective to bind the cap tightly upon the bottle while the clamping ring is being rotated. Inorder to rota-te the clamping ring, the operator grasps the gripping lever 2S and compresses the two blocks 3l) toward one another. This causes the shoulders 31 to cooperatewith the strap 29 and iirmly bite the clamping ring J of the. cap. The grip ping lever is then swung clockwise so that the clam )ing ring is tightened upon the fingers F, which thereafter hold the cap in its tight enedor clamping position. In this action the gripping lever 2S is guided by the sleeve .15

which in turn is guided by the spiral grooves 23. The gripping lever, therefore, describes a spiral path, and the form of the cam grooves 23 iss'uch that this path exactly corresponds to that required for the clamping ring J, which moves downward when turned by reason of the cani inclines o its upper edge. I regard this arrangeurent by which the gripping lever has an axial movementin applying the l(iap as a ver;y important feature. It is imrtan't to have the cap firmly pressed on the ttle and the clamping ring then given the axial and rotary movement ,above described, particularly the axial movement which is the one 'effective to tighten the fmgers E. This being accomplished, it is mere lynecessaryto release the foot pedal and the gripping lever 28, whereupon t e springs 4 and 27, and the resiliency of the strap 29 will restore all the partsto their initial or normal condition. I regard as the most essential 'fea-tures of the invention, the gri ping lever for turning l theclamping ring of t. ie cap and giving it an axialirnovement, and the safety friction device-u on which Athe bottle. rests. lWhile I havefi lust-rated these features in. connection with an organized machine, this is not essential; 4'since the gripping lever and the friction safety' device are susceptible ofuse as separate tools. In Figs. 13, 14 and 15, I have illustrated forms of gripping levers adapted for use as separate too The construction in i "i 'f is ne that already dein the machine' except Thus the safety frio' and then having positioned the cap and gripping lever upon a bottle, to place the whole. under the press. After the pressure is applied, the gripping lever is grasped and turnei'l'cloclm'ise as before, the Jfriction of the members on the flat surface l1 serving to hold this part against rotation. The spring 27 returns the gripping lever to its normal position exactly as in the preceding case. This form of the 'invention is mostapplicable to use with ordinary bottles not provided with notches L, and thema-ps being also y-unprovidcd with the protuheranccs M.

In Figs. 14 and 15 there is shown a slight modification of gripping lever or tool. A cylindrical block is circumferentially Pgrooved at 51, and swivelcd 'within a ring 52, within such groove. A53 indicates a spring ring revolubly held with respect to he block by means of a plate 5 4. 55 and 56 indicate screws for holding the parts together. A strap 57 of'cather or llexible material surrounds the ring 52, and is secured thereto hvsc-rervs 5S. 59 indicate handles connected to the leather and flexibly conneeted to one another bv a link 60 at their outer ends. The handles are normally spring impelled apart by the compression s )ring 61. The use of this tool is exactly similar to that of Fig. 13, the handles 59 serving to bind the strap 57 upon the clamping ring G when the handles are gripped. 'lhereafter the clamping ring may he turned while the cap is held stationary by its engagement with the bottle and with the plate 54.

. IVhat I claim, is:-

1. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping ringto a. bottle, means for initially rotating the bottle and the cap relatively to one another and finally rotating the clamping ring relatively t-o the cap.

n 2. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping ring to a rotatable bottle, a bote tle support cam. guides for rotating said support when it 1s depressed, and a cap applying head adapted to depress a cap on the-bottle without rotation of said head.

3. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping ring to a bottle, a bottle support arra ged to be siniultaneouslv depressed and rot-ated, a ca applying head dcpressiblein alinement Wit said support, and means for independently rotating the clamping ring.

4. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping ring to a bottle, a cap ap lying head having a spring ring to receive a ottle cap, means for depressim; said cap upon a bottle, and means for gripping the clamping ring to rotate it.

5. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping rim; to a bottle, a cap applying head having a spring ring adapted to engage the cap independently of the clamping ring, means for depressing the cap applying head u on a bottle, and means for grasping the c am ing ring to rotate it. l

6. n a machine for applying a cap having a clampingI ring to a bottle, means for fri-ctionally engaging the cap and the bottle to rotate themrelatively to one-another, and means fir finally frictionally engaging the clamping ring to rotate it relatively to the ca 7. In a machine for applying a cap having a clamping ring to a bottle, means for fricvtionallyl engaging the cap and causing relative rotation thereofwith respect to the bottle,

and means for nally engaging the clamping whereby it ma be rotated downwardly -mg the cap u fsa- a clamping ring toabott e, means for graspin a s iral path Wit respect to the cap.

S. a machine for apA lying a cap having a clamping ring to a b otte,.means for pressn the bottle, and means for rotating the c amping ring in a spiral path with respect to the cap.

9. In a machine Afor ap ying a cap having mg the cap and de ressing it Without rotation upon a bottle? and means for finally moving the clamping ringpirally withrespect to the cap.

10. In a machine for 'applying 'a cap having a clamping ring toa bottle, a cap applyin head having spring means to receive and ho d the cap, and a gripping lever extending laterally from said cap applying head and guided to have a spiral movement with respect thereto.

l* ing la clamping rin .50

11. In a machine for a l a ca havto a blhlttljell deprlessible spindle having a ower face to frictionally engage the' cap,` means for gripping the clamping ring to rotate it independent-l of thecap, and means-whereby the bott is given an initial rotary movement with respect to the cap.

ating f e arranged to depressed upon axial movement.

a bottle, a bottle support arranged tHave a rotative movement when depressed, means whereby such rotative movement is arrested after the cap is properly engaged u on the bottle, and means for inally turning the clamping ring.

14. In a machine for applying a cap having a clam ing ring to a bottle, a main operating spindle, a plunger in' alinement therewith having a rotative movement when depressed, a bottle support rotatably mounted on said plunger, and means for imparting a predetermined friction to said bottle support when the plunger is turned. A

15. In a machine for applying a cap having a clam ing ring to a bottle, a main operating spnnlc arranged to depress a cap upon a bottle, and a grip ing lever rotatab y supported on said spin le and having a resilient strap ada ted to surround the clamping ring and bite tlie same.

16. In a machine for appl 1' acap having a clam ing ring to a bott e, a main o rating s in le and a giipping lever exten ing latera y therefrom and adapted to be grasped by the hand of the operator andarpelled rotatably with --relation thereto.

l. 18. A means for tightening the clam ing ring of abottle ca comprising a bock adapted to be place against the top of the cap, and a gripping lever having a strap ofl resilient material movable rotatably of said b lock andadapted to clamp the clamping mg.

19. A means for tightening the clam ing ring of a bottle cap, comprising a block Iiaving spiral inclines thereon, and a' grip ing lever surrounding said block and guided) by said inclines to have a combined rotary and 20. In a bottle capping machine a safe friction device, com ris' a bottle, supportand means for holding said support against rotation with a predetermined amount of frictional engagement.

21. In a bottle capping machine, a safety friction device comprising a bottle support,

- -I means for holding said support against ro- 1-2. In a machine for applving a cap hav-l D tation, and means Afor permitting relative movement between said support and means, with a predetermined amount of frictional resistance.

'ln witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST W. CORDES. Witnesses:

Exam; S. Ossa,

lis 

